


Different

by kerosenna



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Established Relationship, F/M, Reader Has Powers, Reader-Insert, Slow To Update, Tags May Change, Violence, five and reader are married
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26937625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerosenna/pseuds/kerosenna
Summary: It took a good three years for Five to find her- a girl that appeared his age.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Reader, Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)/Reader
Comments: 26
Kudos: 137





	1. Prologue

Five did not like emotions, let alone understand them well. Anyone with a lick of intelligence would know that.

Getting stuck in the apocalypse put him through a lot. The grief that came with the end of the world, finding the bodies of his siblings, not being able to return home, and being completely alone was tough to handle. So, in typical Five fashion, he ignored them and fell into survival mode.

Survival was crucial if he even wanted to consider going back to save his family.

He made by with what he was lucky enough to find in the wasteland called Earth. He traveled around in hopes of finding any other survivors, though the idea was highly unlikely.

It took a good three years for Five to find her- a girl that appeared his age. She was like him and his siblings, capable of creating water (and ice by extent) and manipulating it.

Her body had reacted out of instinct and created a barricade of ice around herself, shielding her from harm’s way.

The actual control she had over her powers, however, were weak and tied to her emotions. She was a potential walking danger.

Surprisingly desperate for human interaction, Five convinced her to stay with him and promised that he would find a way to help with her ability.

He quickly found himself getting attached to her and her sweet personality that severely contrasted his own.

She was kind and caring, but she was far from being a pushover. She was good at communicating and seemed to know what to say a majority of the time. She was also incredibly smart, capable of keeping up with and catching on quickly to what he taught to her.

His protectiveness over her grew as they became closer- friends. The word was foreign to Five, but he was glad that she was his first one.

Years passed fast in each other’s company, and so did their relationship.

While it was never spoken on, they both could feel something between the two of them. And when Five returned to her after a long day of searching, she allowed him to slip the modest but beautiful ring onto her left ring finger, and they shared their first of many kisses.

They knew what they were to each other- it didn’t need discussing or traded words. They could read one another flawlessly; they felt like soulmates.

Five regretted accepting the Handler’s offer for many reasons. The main one, though, was for allowing his lover to be dragged into the world of killing as well.

She was so innocent and oblivious to the world of death, and he wished he could’ve kept it that way.

Either way, she took what would come like a champ. She picked up on hand to hand combat quickly and excelled in the control of her powers. Five couldn’t help but be proud of her.

The only good thing that came from the Commission was that their marriage was finally officiated, and they both wore rings on their fingers.

Five stared down at said ring, contemplating his options. He was supposed to be focusing on the case, but he didn’t care.

YN sat close by, acting as a lookout of sorts. She didn’t seem too interested either, choosing to pay more attention to her nails than the task at hand.

Five knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn’t sure what his wife would.

They had talked about it before- going to 2019 to stop the apocalypse- but she didn’t give her opinion on it at the time. He was sure that she knew what he was up to, but she never mentioned it.

“YN,” Five spoke up.

The woman looked at him, her signature patient smile on her face.

“Need something?” she asked.

“Remember how I’ve mentioned going back and stopping the apocalypse?” he asked. With a nod from her, he continued. “I feel… I feel like this is the best opportunity we’re gonna get to go back, and I want you to come with me. Only if you want to, though.”

Leaning over, YN pressed a kiss to the man’s cheek. “Of course, I will.”

Smiling, Five set his gun aside and pulled out his sister’s book. YN watched intently as he skimmed through before tucking it under his arm and holding his hands out.

She watching in amazement as a portal opened in front of them.

YN beamed proudly, gently nudging Five’s arm. “You did it!”

She barely managed to duck under a fire hydrant that flew out from it. She stared back at it oddly.

Five grabbed her hand, and they looked at each other.

“You ready?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Hands locked, and lips curled up into smiles, they pushed through together.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YN watched as her husband (were they technically still married now that they were children again?) placed a cutting board on the kitchen table.

_Hands locked, and lips curled up into smiles, they pushed through together._

Going through was much weirder than YN expected, and it was quite different than using a briefcase.

Falling several feet onto the ground was also not expected, nor was it welcomed by either of the partners.

Standing from the ground, the two came face to face with what YN could assume was the rest of the Hargreeves. Her eyes widened a fraction as she caught sight of someone, who stared back with just the same look.

"Does anyone else see little Number Five and some girl, or is that just me?"

Glancing at each other, looks of horror spread across their faces. The two were children again, something reversing their ages.

Their suits were a couple of sizes too big for them and hung off their bodies.

"Shit."

YN watched as her husband (were they technically still married now that they were children again?) placed a cutting board on the kitchen table.

His siblings watched him in bewilderment, and YN stood off to the side. She figured that she should let him deal with his siblings, but she could feel eyes gaze at her from time to time- mostly from a specific someone.

"What's the date?" he asked, retrieving a bag of bread. "The _exact_ date."

"The 24th," a woman, who YN recognized as Vanya, answered.

"Of what?"

"March."

Five paused a moment as he opened the bag. "Good," he said with a hint of relief.

It fell silent as Five continued.

"Are we going to talk about what just happened?" It was easy to pick Luther out of the bunch what with the way Five had described him to YN.

When Five didn't answer, the man stood. "It's been 17 years."

Five stopped to scoff at him. "It's been a lot longer than that." He jumped past him onto a stool.

"I haven't missed that," Luther said.

"Where'd you go?" Diego asked. "And why's she with you?"

"The future," Five answered, jumping back to the table after grabbing a bag. "It's shit, by the way." He ignored the other question.

YN chuckled at Klaus's 'called it.'

"I should've listened to the old man," Five sighed. He stepped to the fridge and opened it. "You know, jumping through space is one thing-" he grabbed a jar of peanut butter and closed the door "-jumping through time is a toss of the dice."

Five looked up with a pause, giving Klaus a one over. "Nice dress."

Klaus gave his thanks, as Vanya spoke, "How did you get back?"

"In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time."

"That makes no sense," Diego muttered.

"Well, it would if you were smarter."

Diego stood in a flash only to be held back by Luther.

"How long were you there?" Luther questioned.

"Forty-five years, give or take." Both Luther and Diego sat back down in shock.

"So, what're you saying?" Luther asked. "That you're 58? Is she 58 as well?" Luther gestured back to YN, who smiled awkwardly under the attention.

"No, my _consciousness_ is 58, but apparently my body is now thirteen again," he responded. "And yes, she is as well." Five spared her a glance, giving a brief but reassuring smile that he wouldn't dare let his siblings see.

Five picked up his now finished sandwich and turned to YN. He held it out as an offering, but she shook her head.

"Wait, how does that even work?" Vanya asked.

Five ignored her, taking a bite out of the sandwich and catching a glimpse of the newspaper.

He picked it up with a hum, allowing YN to get a glance at it as well.

"Guess I missed the funeral."

"How'd you know about that?" Luther jumped.

"What part of the future do you not understand?" He gave Luther a look. "Heart failure, huh?"

"Yeah."

"No."

With a click of his tongue, Five dropped the paper back on the table. "Nice to see nothing's changed."

He gave YN a small wave of his hand, a signal to follow him. She quickly joined his side.

"Hold on a damn minute," Diego objected, standing from where he sat on the table. YN sighed as his gaze landed on her. "You need to explain what's going on here. I saw you _yesterday_ , and now you're dropping out of some vortex with my brother, who says you're both much older than you look."

Five gave her a curious look, as did the rest of the family.

"Listen, now's not really the best time to explain things, okay?" YN told him. "As far as you need to be concerned, there's two of me- one of which who should not know any of this."

Before any further objections could be made, YN pulled Five out of the kitchen.

"You know her?" Allison asked Diego.

"Uh, yeah," he answered, staring at where YN and Five stood seconds before. "She's a friend's kid."

"Why didn't you tell me you knew my brother?" Five asked as he led her to his room.

"I honestly didn't know," YN answered. "I guess it should've been evident, now that I think back on it. So, what are we doing now?"

"Getting a change of clothes," Five told her. "Then we'll go from there."

"Think you got anything that'll fit me?"


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We can always tell them."

YN stayed in the house for the funeral, not wanting to intrude.

She didn't know Reginald aside from the stories Five told her in the apocalypse. They were enough for her to know that there was a lot of baggage that their father left them to carry.

She felt that she'd be intruding, despite what Five told her.

"You're a part of this family, y'know," Five pointed out as they had changed. "You're allowed to be out there."

"Yeah, but I didn't even know the man," YN reasoned. "Besides, they don't know that."

"We can always tell them."

YN looked back at Five, a playful smirk spreading across her face. "What happened to wanting to keep your love life private?" she teased.

Five scoffed, but there was only mock annoyance behind.

"Besides, I think Diego would try to kill you if we told him we're married."

"How do you two know each other?" Five asked, turning to her. He wore his old uniform. YN wore one of his as well but didn't wear the full set. She was glad that she was the right size for them.

"He knows my mom," she shrugged.

Five gave her a look of confusion but didn't comment on it.

From what Five told her, the funeral didn't go well- not that she expected it to go any better than it did. Diego's behaviour didn't exactly surprise her, and what she knew of him and his siblings, the fight wasn't a surprise either.

That didn't mean she wasn't upset with him.

Now, though, she watched as Five dug through the kitchen. She sat on the edge of the table, her feet resting on a chair.

Klaus sat at the head of the table across from her. He held onto a guitar, his shoes discarded on the table.

Allison joined the three. "Where's Vanya?"

"Oh," Klaus spoke, "she's gone."

"That's unfortunate." YN glanced back at Five.

"Yeah," Allison agreed, giving him an odd look.

"An entire square block," Five said. "Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, but not a single drop of coffee." He looked up at his sister.

YN rolled her eyes at the reminder of his caffeine addiction.

"Dad hated caffeine," Allison reminded him.

"Well, he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us," Klaus laughed pathetically at his joke, stopping abruptly.

Allison and Five stared at him a moment.

"I'm taking the car," Five said.

Klaus sat up in his seat, moving the guitar. "Where are you going?"

"To get a decent cup of coffee," Five told him. He looked to YN. "You coming?" With a nod, she dropped off the table.

"Do either of you even know how to drive?" Allison asked.

"We know how to do everything."

"It was great meeting you all," YN smiled before Five grabbed her hand, and they jumped out of the kitchen.

Klaus stood from his seat. "I feel like we should try and stop them, but then again, I also just kinda want to see what happens."

They could hear the engine start, followed by the stifled sound of the car leaving.

Diego walked in, already speaking. "I guess I'll see you guys in, what, ten years? When Pogo dies?"

"Not if you die first," Allison said, stepping away from him.

"Yeah, love you, too, sis," Diego fired back. He glanced around the kitchen. "YN leave?"

"The girl?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah."

"Her and Five ran off to get coffee, apparently."

Diego let out an annoyed sigh, stepping away and moving to leave.

The shifting neon lights above Griddy's was a welcomed sight for YN. She seldom visited with Diego, and on occasion, her mother joined when she was free. After a while, though, she started coming on her own and became acquainted with Agnes, who always served her.

The two climbed out of the car, and Five led the way to the diner.

A man held the door open for them as he left, earning a quick thank you from YN.

They settled next to each other at the counter. YN reached over and rang a short tune with the bell.

Five gave her a confused look as she settled back.

She looked back at him innocently.

"What?" she asked.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I haven't seen Agnus in a long time, and I always did that when I would come in," she pouted. "Leave me alone."

Five let out a chuckle and shook his head in amusement.

Behind them, the door opened, and footsteps came up to the counter. A man sat down in a chair close to Five.

Agnus came from the back room, and YN beamed at the sight of her.

"Sorry," the waitress apologized. "The sink was clogged." With a smile, she pulled out her pad of paper and pen.

"What'll it be?" she asked, looking at the man.

"Uh, give me a chocolate eclair." Agnus wrote down the order. She glanced up at Five.

"Can I get the kid a glass of milk or something?"

YN stifled back a laugh as Five scoffed. "The kid wants coffee. Black."

Agnus glanced at the man, uncertain of what to do. "Cute kid," she laughed. Looking back at Five, he gave her an uncomfortable smile.

She quickly moved on to YN.

"Nice to see you again, dear," she said, trying not to look back at Five. "Want your usual?"

"Yes, please," YN spoke softly.

Agnus gave her a nod before stepping back to the coffee pot.

Five let out a soft sigh. 

"Don't remember this place being such a shithole," he said, earning a gentle push from YN. "I used to come here as a kid. Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters- eat donuts 'till we puked. Simpler times, huh?"

The man next to them seemed confused- understandably so, YN thought.

"I suppose," he responded.

Angus returned to the counter, balancing four items in her hands. She placed two coffees down- one for Five and the other for YN- and gave the man his eclair and YN her favorite pastry.

The man had pulled out his wallet, holding out money to Agnus.

"I got theirs," he said.

"Thanks." The two spoke in unison.

It was quiet for a moment as YN dug into her food. It had been almost a full day now since she'd last eaten anything, so she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

"You must know your way around the city."

YN looked up at Five, who stared at the man.

"I hope so," the man said. "I've been driving it for twenty years."

"Good," Five said. "We need an address."

YN raised a brow at him, unsure of where this was going.

She watched as the man wrote the address down on a napkin and slid it over to Five.

With a curt smile- one more pleasant than what he offered Agnus- Five took it and looked the address over.

YN looked at it over his shoulder, glancing back as the man left the restaurant.

"What's that for?" she questioned as he folded and pocketed the napkin.

Five opened his mouth to speak but shut it when the door opened again. Through the reflection of the bell, they could see armed men dressed in black behind them. Two had their weapons raised to each of their heads.

YN sighed as she stared down at her unfinished pastry. Did it really need to be this hard to get some food?

"That was fast," Five hummed. "Thought we'd have more time before they found us."

"Okay," the man holding his gun to Five's head spoke. "Let's be professional about this, yeah? On your feet, and come with us. They want to talk."

With a sigh, YN propped her arm up and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"We've got nothing to say."

"It doesn't have to go this way. You think I wanna shoot some kids? Go home with that on my conscience?"

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that." Five and YN glanced at each other. YN looked forward again, and Five looked back at the man. "You won't be going home."

Letting Five take the lead, YN waiting until he disappeared from his chair to drop from her seat and duck down.

The man that was aiming at her followed her movement, ready to shoot.

She moved faster, using her weight and swiping the man off his feet. He stumbled to the ground, landing on a conveniently placed pile of ice shards that pierced through his body. They melted to water seconds later, leaving no evidence behind.

"Hey, assholes!" Five's voice rang out in the diner, attracting the attention of the men.

As the men shot wildly at where he used to be seconds ago, YN used the distraction.

Focusing, a sharp wave of her hand brought shards of ice flying through the floor at the men. Only two got hit, the others taking cover from them before turning their shots on the girl. She avoided as best as she could, all while being jealous of Five's ability to jump around and avoid everything.

The boy wrapped his tie around the neck of a man, while another tried to aim at him. YN kicked at the other, and he stumbled back.

Forming a flat but sharp piece of ice in her hand, she rushed him, swinging at his neck with the ice. He dropped to the ground, blood pouring out and pooling around him.

YN scrunched her nose at the sight, dropping the ice.

Turning, she caught sight of the last two men trying to corner Five. He disappeared as they shot, leaving them to shoot at each other. They sank to the ground, dead, and the fight was finally over.

YN let out a laugh as Five retrieved his tie from a man's corpse.

"What's so funny?" he asked, wrapping his tie back around his neck.

"They were a couple of idiots," she said.

"You know, for someone so sweet, you can be real awful sometimes," Five said. YN smiled at him, shrugging.

The sounds of grunts caught their attention, and YN's smile fell.

Five moved to stand over the last man, crouching down to snap his neck. There, he caught sight of the tracking device and picked it up.

He showed it to YN, who groaned.

"You wanna go first?" he asked.

"Not really."

They sat back at the counter.

YN watched in displeasure as Five took a knife to his arm, cutting into the skin. He dug into the wound with his fingers, grunting in pain.

He pulled out a small pill-shaped device that blinked green. He set it aside before handing the knife over to YN.

"Your hands are still black," he commented.

A side effect of solidifying liquids came in the form of frostbite on her hands. It would never hurt her, but her hands and fingers would ache and freeze for a certain amount of time as it faded.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Five asked, noticing the severe shake to her hands. "Are you alright?" He hadn't seen the side effects in so long that it was odd to see them again.

"I'm fine," YN assured him. "I didn't know I had powers at this age, so I never used them. I guess being back at this age and using them so much all of a sudden is taking a toll on my body."

"Here, give it to me," Five insisted.

With a sigh, she traded the knife back and held out her arm for him.

Her face scrunched in pain as he cut through, stopping when it was open enough. He did the same for her, reaching in and pulling out the tracking device.

"Can we go now?"

They left the shop hand-in-hand, Five ignoring the cold her hand gave off.

He dropped the devices by the sewer drain.

"Where to now, babe?" YN asked.

"Vanya's."

The click of a lock and creaking hinges filled the dark room where YN and Five sat, waiting.

YN could faintly see a figure's outline, who she assumed was Vanya. Hoped was more like it.

Five clicked on a light, revealing their presence.

Vanya looked at them, startled. "Jesus!" she breathed.

"You should have locks on your windows," Five told her.

"I live on the second floor."

"Rapists can climb."

Vanya paused. "You are so weird."

She turned and closed the door before removing her coat and draping it over the back of the couch.

She sat down on the couch.

She looked over the two, more focused on her brother than the girl who rested against the back of the chair he sat on.

"Is that blood?" she asked them. Her gaze stayed on their arms.

YN moved her arm out of sight, which was much more visible than Five's.

"It's nothing," Five said.

Vanya shifted, not liking his answer. "Why are you here?"

"I've decided you're the only one I can trust."

"Why me?"

"Because you're ordinary." YN discreetly flicked the back of his head. He sighed at her. "Because you'll listen."

With a soft 'okay,' she stood up and disappeared into a room. She returned shortly with medical supplies, to which Five rolled up the sleeve of the blazer.

The woman took a sharp breath at the sight of his wound.

"When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future, do you know what I found?" Five spoke.

"No."

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. For a while, I thought I was the last person alive. I found YN, who managed to survive by luck.

"I never figured out what killed the human race, but I did find something else. The date it happens. The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it."

During Five's explanation, YN had been waved over to the couch by Vanya so she could take care of her arm as well.

Vanya stared at her brother in silence as she tried to register the bomb he had dropped on her.

"I'll put on a pot of coffee."


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "YN?" she called out. "YN!"

"We survived on scraps. Canned food, cockroaches, anything we could find." Five let out a sad chuckle. "You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life? Well, it's total bullshit."

Vanya had brought coffee for the two of them, and they gladly accepted it. YN had moved to sit on the floor to be closer to Five.

"I can't even imagine," said Vanya.

"It was the only way to survive," YN told her.

"We adapted," Five said. "Whatever the world threw at us, we found a way to overcome it." He paused a moment.

"You got anything stronger?"

He ended up with a decent amount of alcohol, jumping right in for a sip. YN had declined her offers for some as well.

"You think we're crazy, don't you?" he asked.

Vanya, who stared at the two with a look that added to his suspicions, quickly shook her head lightly.

"No," she stammered, "it's just... it's a lot to take in."

"Exactly what don't you understand?"

"Calm down, Five," YN muttered to him from where she still sat.

"Why didn't you just time travel back?" Vanya asked.

Five scoffed and blew a breath. "Gee, wish I'd thought of that," he sassed. "Time travel is a crapshoot. I went into the ice and never acorn-ed." That earned him an odd look from YN.

"You think I didn't try everything to get back to my family?"

Vanya was quiet for a second.

"If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse, how come you still look like a kid?" she asked. "Her, too." She glanced back at YN.

"I told you already," Five said, moving past her to the kitchen. "I must have got the equations wrong." He opened the bottle to pour more for himself.

"I mean, Dad always used to say that time travel could mess up your mind. Well, maybe that's what's happening?"

"This was a mistake." Five put his class down. "You're too young, too naive to understand." Five walked past Vanya to the door as she objected.

YN stood slowly in the chance that she needed to join him.

Five looked back at Vanya.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, and I don't want to lose you again," she told him. "That's all."

Five looked at the ground.

"You know what, it's getting late, and I have lessons early, and I neep to sleep, and I'm sure both of you do, too," she said. She laid a blanket out on the couch before looking at Five. "We'll talk in the morning again, okay? I promise."

She gave Five a quiet 'night' as she passed him, to which he returned.

The two watched in silence as she walked back to her room. Five sat on the couch.

"We're not staying, are we?" YN asked.

With a sigh, he pulled out a cloth, unwrapping a fake eye from inside. He showed it to her, and she nodded in understanding.

They snuck out of the apartment, careful to make sure Vanya didn't hear them.

Blue and red flashed brightly in the dark of night, and loud police sirens filled the area.

The area around Griddy's Donuts was blocked off by officers, while others investigated the mess inside.

"This is a once in a blue moon type of situation I'd say," Detective Eudora Patch spoke as she looked around the room.

"I'm inclined to agree," her colleague, Chuck, said.

"Same gun on every vic, all M4s," she remarked. "All the casings are .223s. Know what I think?" She looked over at Chuck. "I think these idiots all shot each other."

"And stabbed," he added. "One across the neck, one all over his backside, two in multiple different areas, and this guy got his neck snapped."

Eudora crouched by said man.

"All quick and efficient kills," Chuck commented.

"These guys were definitely professionals," Eudora said. "Dumb, but professionals. Any witnesses?" She stood up.

"Yes," Chuck answered, pointing to the corner of the restaurant. "One. It happened during her shift."

"Oh, god."

Eudora quickly walked over to the woman. "Agnes?"

"Oh, Eudora," the woman sighed, watching as she sat across from her.

"I need to ask you a few questions," Eudora said. "Did you see what happened here?"

Agnes sighed. "No, not exactly."

"Let's start at the top."

"Well, it was a slow night, it was quiet," Agnes explained. "My last customers were this guy and his kid, and- oh dear, Eudora, YN was there."

Eudora's brows furrowed together. "Wait, what? She's supposed to be at home right now." The woman shook her head. "I- please continue."

"The guy had a donut- no, no that's not right," Agnes shook her head. "The guy had an eclair, the kid had coffee, and YN had her usual. I went into the back room to just get some more change, but then I heard his truck start up. They drove away. I don't know if YN left during that time, but I hope she did because that's when I heard shots. And by the time I got back in here..." The woman trailed off, looking over at the mess surrounding them.

Eudora could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She wanted to run out of the shop and home, but she had a job to focus on right now.

"Was there anyone else in the shop?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so," Agnes shook her head. "I'm sorry, not to be rude, but do I have to go through this all again?"

"Again?" Eudora asked.

"Well, I already told the other detective everything."

"What other detective?"

Unlocking the door of her house, Eudora quickly stepped inside.

"YN?" she called out. "YN!"

The girl came tumbling around a corner, dressed in pajamas and hair wet.

"Hey!" she smiled at the sight of the woman, skipping toward her. "You're home early for once."

"Are you alright?" Eudora quickly fussed over her.

YN's grin faded into a look of confusion. "Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Eudora sighed. "Why were you out at Griddy's so late?"

"I wasn't," YN said, her confusion deepening. "I was here all day. I just got out of the shower not too long ago."

"Agnes said that you came in earlier." YN shook her head.

"Maybe it was someone that looked like me? All I know is that I didn't go out to Griddy's today."

Eudora pursed her lips, her face still showing concern.

"Are you sure?"

" _Mom_ ," YN sighed.

"Alright, alright," Eudora caved, holding her hands up in defense. "Maybe it was just the shock that had her confused. I'm just worried about your safety. I don't want anything bad happening to you again."

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me," YN laughed lightly. "Besides, I've already told you- I don't remember anything that supposedly happened before you adopted me, so you don't need to worry about it."

With a sigh, Eudora pressed a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"Alright," she said. "Go get some sleep."

With a nod, YN ran off to her room.

"I love you!" Eudora called after her.

"Love you, too!"


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YN leaned over to whisper to Five. "I like him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely love Klaus and his dramatics

The Meritech building was modern, as expected for such a big company. Walls lined with windows gave a great view of the city outside while also allowing natural light inside. Nearly everything was white, giving the place a cold and sterile feel to it.

Five and YN waited a while for the building to open before they could finally go in. As they waited, Five had filled her in on the importance of the eye.

"Can I help you, kids?"

Turning back around, Five and YN saw a man dressed in a white lab coat with identification wrapped around his neck.

Five took the lead, stepping forward and holding the eye up. "We need to know who this belongs to."

YN stood right to the side of him.

"Where did you get that?" the man asked.

"What do you care?" Trying not to sigh, YN poked Five's back as a way to tell him to say something better. "We found it. At a playground, actually. Must have just-" Five clicked his tongue "-popped out." Five smiled up at the man, while YN bit the inside of her cheek, resisting a laugh.

"I wanna return it to its rightful owner," Five explained.

"Oh, what a thoughtful young man," the receptionist awed.

"Yeah, look up the name for me, will ya?" he asked her.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but patient records are strictly confidential," the man told him. "That means I can't tell you-"

"Yeah, I know what it means," Five stopped him.

"I can tell you what I _can_ do. I'll take the eye off your hands and return it to the owner. I'm sure he or she will be very grateful, so if I can just-"

"Yeah, you're not touching this eye," Five snapped.

"Now you listen here, young man-" before he could continue, Five had the collar of his coat in his hands, pulling him down to his eye level.

YN let out a sigh, innocently glancing away from the scene.

"No, you listen to me, asshole," he spat. "We've come a long way for this, through some shit your pea brain couldn't even comprehend, so just give me the information we need, and we'll be on our merry way. And if you call me 'young man' one more time, I'm gonna put your head through that damn wall."

"Oh, dear," the receptionist's voice wavered. YN sent a smile her way.

"Call security."

The woman picked up the phone and quickly dialed. Recognizing defeat, Five let the man go with a shove.

Vanya let out a sigh at the sight of her brother. "Oh, thank god." He glanced back at her. "I was worried sick about you."

"Sorry I left without saying goodbye," he apologized, turning to her.

"No, look, I'm the one that should be sorry," Vanya said. "I was dismissive, and I guess I didn't know how to process what you were saying. And I still can't, to be honest."

"Maybe you were right to be dismissive," Five said. "Maybe it wasn't real, after all. It felt real. Well, like you said, the old man did say time travel could contaminate the mind."

"Then maybe I'm not the right person for you to be talking to," Vanya told him. "Look, I used to see someone. A therapist. I could give you her information."

"Thanks, but," Five trailed off for a second, "I think I'm just gonna get some rest. It's been a long time since I've had a good sleep."

"Okay," Vanya said. "And your friend- is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's around here somewhere."

"Alright." Vanya left the room after one final look at Five.

He followed after her to make sure she left, and the wardrobe door came open, two figures crawling out and unintentionally pulling stuff out with them.

"That's so," Klaus trailed off as he stumbled up, as did YN. "...touching. All that stuff about Dad and time. Wow!"

"Did you have to shove me in there with you?" YN asked Klaus.

"Would you two shut up?" Five hissed. "She'll hear you!"

"I'm moist," Klaus played, patting YN's back.

"I thought I told you to put on something professional," Five said, gesturing to Klaus's outfit.

"What?" Klaus asked. "This is my nicest outfit."

Five sighed. "We'll raid the old man's closet."

"Whatever, as long as I get paid." YN snorted.

"When the job is done."

They trailed out of the room together.

"Okay, but just so we're clear on the finer details," Klaus said, bringing them all to a stop, "I just gotta go into this place and pretend to your guy's dear old dad, correct?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"What's our cover story?"

"What?" YN asked. "Why would we need a cover story?"

"Well, I mean, was I like really young when I had you guys?" Klaus went in. "Like 16? Like, young and terribly misguided?"

"Sure," Five agreed, wanting the conversation to be over.

"Your mother, that slut." YN tried to hold back her laugh but failed. "Whoever she was. We met at..." he trailed off in thought before a fond smile spread across his face, "the disco. Okay? Remember that."

Klaus snapped his fingers. "Oh, my god, the sex was _amazing_."

"What a disturbing glimpse into that thing you call a brain," Five said, turning and grabbing YN's hand. He led her down the stairs as Klaus said something about time-out.

YN leaned over to whisper to Five. "I like him."

"Of course, you do."

"Like I said to your kids earlier, any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential," the man Five and YN had dealt with not long again spoke to Klaus now, who sat across from him. "Without the client's consent, I simply can't help you."

"Well, we can't get consent if you don't give us a name," Five told him, leaning on the desk.

"Well, that's not my problem," he said. "Sorry. Now, there's really nothing more I can do, so-" "And what about _my_ consent?"

The three looked to Klaus, confused.

"Excuse me?"

"Who gave _you_ permission...," Klaus trailed off before continuing to speak with an edge of pain to his voice, "to lay your hands...on my kids?" He pointed up at Five, who stared down at him in confusion.

The man across from them seemed just as confused.

"What?" the three asked.

"You heard me."

"I didn't touch your children."

"Oh, really?" Klaus asked. "Well, how did he get that swollen lip, then?" He sat up in his chair.

Both YN and the man tried to question him on Five's lack of swollen lip. Klaus, however, was one step ahead, standing from the chair and swinging at Five.

The man stared in shock, and YN bit her lip to keep herself from doing anything.

"And her?" Klaus pointed back at YN, who's eyes widened as she realized it was her turn. "That bloody nose."

YN sighed, bracing herself.

Klaus's fist collided with her nose, and she stumbled back with a shout. Blood slowly dripped from her nose and down her face, falling onto the floor.

For someone that looked as scrawny as he was, Klaus sure did pack a punch.

Five was by her side in an instant to make sure she was alright.

Klaus inhaled sharply, turning to him. "I want it. Name, please. Now."

"You're crazy," the man pointed at him.

Klaus chuckled. "You've got no idea." He glanced down at the snow globe on the desk, picking it up. "'Peace on Earth.' That's so sweet."

In a quick motion, he smashed the snow globe on his head, groaning out in pain.

The three jumped, startled, as Klaus let out a howl of pain.

"God, that hurt." His face was wet, glitter in his hair and blood dripping down his face.

The man quickly picked up the phone, mentioning security. Klaus ripped the phone from his hand.

"What are you doing?"

Klaus gasped into the phone. "There's been an assault in Mr. Big's office, and we need security now," he said. "Schnell!" He let the receiver clatter onto the desk and looked up at the man.

"Now here's what's gonna happen, Grant," Klaus said.

"It's...Lance."

"In about sixty seconds, two security guards are gonna burst through that door, and they're gonna see a whole lot of blood, and they're gonna wonder 'What the hell happened?'"

Five looked at Lance, a smug look on his face.

"He really knows what he's doing," YN muttered to him. Five glanced back at her.

"And we're gonna tell them that _you_...," Klaus trailed off as a look of sorrow spread across his face, and a whimpering tone took over his voice, "beat the _shit_ out of us." He let out a dramatic sob that turned into a sigh.

"You're gonna do great in prison, Grant," Klaus told him. "Trust me, I've been there. A little piece of chicken like you, oh, my god, you're gonna get passed around like a..." the man trailed off as he began rotating his hips in a circular motion. He quickly waved off the thought. "You're just- you're gonna do great. That's all I'm saying."

"Jesus, you're a real sick bastard," Lance said, looking between the other two before staring up at Klaus.

"Thank you." He spit out a shard of glass.

Lance picked through the documents with shaky hands with the three watching him closely.

He pulled out a file and opened it, sending an uncertain glance at Klaus.

"Huh, that's strange," he said.

"What?" Five and YN asked.

"The eye," Lance explained. "It hasn't been purchased by a client yet."

Klaus dropped off the surface and landed next to him. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well, uh, our logs say that," he trailed off a moment to glance at Klaus, who walked around him as an intimidation tactic, "the eye with that serial number... This can't be right. It hasn't even been manufactured yet. Where did you get that eye?"

He looked at the two across from him in bewilderment.

Five sighed with a subtle shake of his head.

It was quiet for a moment before YN finally broke it.

"Do you have any tissues?"

"Well, this is not good." The three walked out of the building in defeat once again.

"I was pretty good, though, right?" Klaus asked. "Yeah, what about _my_ consent, bitch?" He let out a wild chuckle.

"Yeah, you were great, Klaus," YN agreed, "but did you have to give a bloody nose? Jesus." She dropped down on the steps of the building, holding a bundle of tissues to her still dripping nose.

"Look, it doesn't matter," Five injected.

"What? What? What's the big deal with this eye, anyway?" Klaus questioned.

"There is someone out there that is going to lose an eye in the next seven days," Five told him. "They're gonna bring about the end of the world as we know it."

"It's a pretty big deal," YN added.

"Yeah, can I get that twenty bucks like, now, or?" YN groaned in annoyance.

"You can't be serious, Klaus."

"Your twenty bucks?" Five asked.

"Yeah, my twenty bucks."

"The apocalypse is coming, and all you can think about is getting high?" Five seethed.

"Well, I'm also quite hungry. Tummy's a-rumblin'." He imitated his stomach, adding in weird hand motions.

"You're useless," Five said. "You're all useless."

"Five," YN warned.

"Oh, come on, you need to lighten up, old man!"

Five ignored him, opting to sit down by YN.

"Hey, I just now realized why you're so uptight- you must be horny as hell," Klaus laughed out, joining Five's side. "All those years- did the two of you never go at it, or something? That would be mind-blowing. Surely you'd crack at some point. Besides, don't think I didn't notice those rings."

YN hid her face in her free hand, trying to hide in embarrassment.

"You don't need to hear about all the things we've done," Five grumbled.

"Oh, so you've done a lot?"

"Oh, my god," YN drawled.

"I bet you say that to him a lot." YN looked away in disbelief.

"You know, you guys sure have been together a long time," Klaus said. "God, the longest I've been with someone was three weeks, and that's only because I was so tired of looking for a place to sleep."

"Can we leave?" YN whispered to Five.

The boy grabbed her hand, and they jumped into a taxi.

The driver looked back at them, startled.

"Don't stop," Five told him. "Just keep driving."


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Got it last night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one’s a bit short, but I mainly wanted to get it out!

After leaving Klaus at the Meritech building, YN went back to the academy, while Five went off to do something on his own accord.

The girl was in desperate need of sleep and could only imagine how Five wasn't as exhausted as her.

Upon arriving, she immediately climbed up to Five's room and changed into a pair of his pajamas that she found before collapsing on his bed.

She barely managed to get under the covers before passing out.

After everything that had already managed to happen in the past couple of days, YN was ready for a moment of peace.

Waking up the next day was surprisingly enjoyable. She wasn't sure when, but it seemed that Five had returned at some point.

YN could feel Five's arm wrapped tightly around her waist, his face pressing against the back of her neck. His warm breath gently fanned against it, continuing to flow down his pajama shirt she wore.

She carefully turned around, hoping to not wake Five up. The boy grumbled at her movement but did not wake.

It was rare to see him so peaceful- something that YN didn't enjoy thinking about.

Her only wish was that they could clean up this mess, allowing Five to finally relax for once in his entire life.

"Why are you staring at me?" Five grumbled. His eyes were opened at a squint, trying to get used to the change in light.

YN shrugged to the best of her ability. "It's rare that I get to see you so calm," she told him, smiling softly. He offered her a similar one.

He moved to pull her closer but stopped with a hiss of pain. YN quickly sat up, both confused and concerned.

Looking over him, she caught sight of the blood and tear on the arm of his blazer, a sign of injury.

"Five!" she exclaimed.

He sat up with a sigh, cautious of his arm.

"How long have you had that?!" YN scurried to stand up.

She helped him remove the layer of clothing; his vest and button-up coming off as well. He was left with just an undershirt.

"Got it last night."

YN let out grumbles of complaint as she looked over the severity of the cut, gently holding onto Five's arm.

Straightening up, she dropped her hands to her sides.

"Damnit, Five," she groaned. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"There are more important things to worry about," he told her. "Besides, you were sleeping when I got back. You look cute in my pajamas, by the way."

"Stop trying to change the subject."

"Who said I was?" Five smirked.

"I'm going to smack you."

Five's smirk changed to a smile as the girl shook her head.

"How did you-" YN stopped her turn. Her face dropped to one of annoyance. Five followed her gaze to see the problem. "You went and got the fucking mannequin."

The two looked away from the top half of a mannequin that sat on Five's desk chair and at each other.

"Yeah."

YN held her hands out in confusion. "Why?"

When she received no answer, she dropped her hands and sighed.

"Stay there," she demanded, pointing at him with a look.

She left his room to scour the house for medical supplies.

"Can't believe I'm jealous of a damn mannequin."

Finding the supplies needed was proving harder than YN thought it would be. Granted, the house was huge, and she didn't know where anything was at.

She really should've asked Five where everything was.

"Can I help you, dear?"

Turning, YN saw a woman staring at her with a kind smile on her red-painted lips. She could only assume that this was Grace, Five's mother.

"Are there any medical supplies here?"

"Of course," the woman answered. "This way." She waved YN along, placing a hand on her back.

Grace guided her around the house to a room that seemed to be dedicated to medical care.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. "Do you need any help?"

YN thought about it- Five probably wouldn't want Grace to be brought to him right now, and she could easily handle it.

"No help needed," YN smiled. "It's nothing too bad."

Grace returned her smile. "Alright, dear."

YN gathered what she needed before Grace brought her to the foyer of the house. From there, she returned to Five's room.

He still sat on the bed but moved to sit on the edge.

"That took you a bit," he teased.

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly know where everything is."

Lying everything down on the bed, YN got to work.

As she tugged the needle through his skin, Five let out soft grunts of pain.

She tied off the thread and wrapped the wound before standing up straight.

"Alright," she heaved a breath. "You need to get changed, and be careful with that." She pointed at his shoulder.

"You need to change as well," Five told her. "Unless you want to run around, saving the world in my pajamas."

YN gave him a pointed look. "Change."

He did as told, and YN copied.

As Five zipped up his bag containing the mannequin, YN watched with a deadpan expression.

"Are you seriously bringing it?" YN asked, crossing her arms. "Or are you returning it?" Five could sense what she was trying to get at. He pulled the straps of the bag onto his shoulders.

"I'll return her," Five said. He pulled YN close, pressing a delicate kiss to her lips. "Later."

He smirked at her eye roll.

"Someone's jealous," he teased.

"My husband is replacing me, a human being, with a mannequin," she shot back. "Of course, I am."

Five grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the window onto the fire escape.

There, the two could hear Klaus's voice echoing in the alleyway.

"Damnit, where's Dad's stuff?" YN peered over the edge of the fire escape to see Klaus throw a bag out of a dumpster.

Five started his descent on the stairs, ignoring his brother.

To no one in particular, he yelled out a 'shut up.'

YN caught up to Five on the stairs.

"I'm trying to find whatever priceless crap was in that priceless box so that Pogo will get off my ass!" the man shouted.

YN sent a confused look Five's way as he began climbing down the ladder.

"I'd ask what you're up to, Klaus, but then it occurred to me," Five paused his climbing to look down at Klaus, "I don't care."

"Hey, you know there are easier ways out of the house, buddy?"

"This one involved the least amount of talking," Five said, dropping to the ground. "Or so I thought." YN followed after.

"Hey, hey, hey, so, you need any more company today?" Klaus asked, lounging against the wall of the dumpster. "I could, uh, clear my schedule." He took a swig from his flask.

"You seem pretty busy there," YN commented.

"This? No, no. I can do this whenever. I just-" he tumbled back, clattering filling their ears "-I just misplaced something. That's all."

He let out an exclamation before resurfacing, half-eaten bagel in hand.

"Found it! Thank god!" YN cringed as he took a bite out of it. Klaus tried to hide his discomfort of eating the food. "Delicious."

"I'm done funding your drug habit," Five told him. He turned to leave, YN sending a wave of goodbye to Klaus.

"Come on! You don't-" Klaus stopped himself. "Maybe I just wanna hang out with my brother and his wife! My sister-in-law! Not you."

"This is kinda sad," YN said to Five.

"Mi hermano!" Klaus called out to him. "I love you! Even if you can't love yourself!"

His words were muffled as Five and YN climbed into a random van in the alley, Five throwing his bag into the back.

"Right, so, where are we headed to, dear Five?" YN asked sarcastically.

Back to the Meritech building, apparently.

The van was parked across the street from it, giving them the perfect amount of coverage to not be noticed.

YN sat forward in her seat as they saw Lance approaching the building.

"Alright, he's here now," she said. "What do we do?"

"We wait."


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You mean your mom?" YN asked.

YN didn't realize that when Five said they would wait, he meant all day.

They had not moved since the man went in for work, and YN was bored out of her mind.

As the hours passed, morning became the afternoon, and YN grew restless in her seat. Five, as always, seemed more than fine staying in the exact same position from when they first got there.

The girl had moved to the back of the van to take a nap. It was the only option she had to make time go by quicker, and Five didn't mind.

It was just as she finally started to doze off that she was awoken by the muffled voice of one of his siblings. She sat up with a groan of annoyance.

Luther stood at the passenger door, trying to get his attention. Five seemed too preoccupied.

The back of the van opened as Klaus slipped in, greeting YN with a smile.

"Five!" The boy finally snapped out of his trance as Luther pulled the door open. The two in the back held their laughs down at the sight of Luther struggling to get into the car. "You okay?" He acted casually as if they all hadn't just witnessed his struggle.

"You shouldn't...," Five trailed off as a question sparked in his mind. "How did you find me?"

The two looked back, past YN and at Klaus, who had Delores in his arms.

"Hey, a little privacy, guys," the man spoke, "we're really hitting it off back here."

YN shielded herself, and Klaus used the mannequin as one when Five threw an object back at him.

He let out a mixture of a scream and laugh.

"Get out! You can't be here!" Five demanded. "We're in the middle of something!"

Klaus put the mannequin down and scooted up front next to YN.

"Any luck finding your one-eyed man?" he asked them.

Five whispered out a 'no,' obviously not wanting Luther in on anything.

"What's he talking about?" said man asked.

"Does it matter? It's Klaus." Five sighed. "What do you want, Luther?"

"Um, so, Grace may have had something to do with Dad's death," Luther explained. "So, I need you to come back to the academy, alright? It's important."

"You mean your mom?" YN asked. Klaus nodded in confirmation. "Why would she do anything to him?" No one answered her.

"'It's important,'" Five quoted. "You have no concept of what's important."

"Hey," Klaus interrupted, "did I ever tell you guys about the time that I waxed my ass with chocolate pudding?" He let out a laugh. "It was so painful!"

"What are you still doing here?" Luther asked. He didn't seem happy with his brother's shenanigans.

"I- What? I need an excuse to hang out with my family?"

"We're trying to have a serious conversation here."

"What, and I'm incapable of being serious? Is that what you're saying?"

"Luther's got a point," Five agreed. "You should get out."

YN watched in bewilderment as the man was kicked out.

"Bye, Klaus!" she said, waving to him once again.

She was the only one that got a goodbye from him.

"Well, that was awfully mean of you two," YN muttered, not caring if either of them heard.

Luther spared her a glance. "What the hell are you two up to?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me. The last I checked, I'm still the leader of this family."

"I know you've all got numbers, but does that seriously mean you have to have _leaders_?" YN questioned.

Luther looked back at her.

"You wanna explain who you are before asking so many questions?" Locking her eyes with him, she kicked the back of his seat as hard as she could with a dead expression.

He looked at her, appalled.

"Leave her be," Five said. "Besides, last I checked, I'm twenty-eight years older than you."

"You know what your problem is?" Luther said, turning to him.

"Really hoping you'll tell me."

"You think you're better than us. You always have, even when we were kids. But the truth is, you're just as messed up as the rest of us. We're all you have, and you know it."

YN awkwardly looked away, knowing this wasn't going to end well.

"I don't _think_ that I'm better than you, Number One. I _know_ I am. The only person here that is better than me is YN." She would've thanked him if it weren't for such awkward timing. "I've done unimaginable things, things you couldn't even comprehend. Just to get back here and save you all."

"Hey, bitches!"

Looking out the window, the three watched as Klaus ran through the street with a cop on his tail, blowing a whistle.

"Now, I'm starting to wonder if that was the wisest decision."

By the next morning, it was obvious that Lance was up to something suspicious. Five had caught him doing something that night, but YN had finally fallen asleep.

What was important, though, was that they had him in their sight.

He was dressed in athletic wear, holding a dog in his arm.

The two watched as he crossed the street to his car and put the dog in the back. As he got in the front, Five jumped them into the car. Five sat in the passenger seat, YN in the backseat with the dog that barked at their sudden appearance.

When the man turned, he jumped at the sight of the two.

Five moved quickly, pressing a blade to his throat. YN winced at how easy it would be for a bystander to see them, but she still leaned closer to the man.

"One chance- that's all you've got," Five threatened. "One chance to tell us exactly what's going on in that lab."

"I-I manufacture prosthetic devices for fake patients," Lance sputtered. "I bill the insurance companies and then sell them for cash on the black market."

"Does this include eyeballs?" YN asked, his eyes flickering back to her and her sickeningly sweet smile.

"Yeah, they're my biggest seller. I mean, they sell like hotcakes. I've got a list- a waiting list- probably twenty buyers."

"So the serial number I told you," Five started.

"Could've already been bought. Yes, off- off the books."

The two let out frustrated sighs.

"We needed that list, Lance," Five told him. "Names and numbers, and we need it now!"

"I don't have it," Lance said but was quick to add, "not on me. The only copy's in my safe at the lab."

"Looks like it's time for a ride!" YN said. "Let's go, boys!"

Arriving at the lab, however, proved to be little help.

Smoke and flames poured out the windows, burning everything left inside.

Five rushed ahead of the two, YN following quickly after to make sure he didn't try to do anything stupid.

They were thrown aback by an explosion from the building, rubble flying back with them.

Grunting, the two sat up where they landed, staring at the burning building that held important information.

"Shit," YN panted out with a breath.

The sound of sirens became louder and louder with each second as they continued to sit there.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Shut up!" Five shouted at her, although it didn't seem sincere. "You're going through the same thing!"

The eyeball was a dead end.

It was unfortunate, really- all that time the two wasted looking for its owner, only for the files to go up in flames.

It was truly a moment to mourn- so they did.

They went to the library so Five could work, but that ended in a spiral of drinking between the two, and they passed out in a corner, leaning on each other.

Which is how Diego and Luther found them, along with a mannequin under Five's arm.

"Are they...," Luther trailed off in question.

"Drunk," Diego finished as an answer. He stared at Five, amused, but it faded when he realized YN was likely just as drunk. "I'll get YN. You get Five."

They picked them up bridal style, Luther making sure that he brought the mannequin with them. Five seemed oddly attached to it.

It was silent as they carried the two teen-looking adults out of the library, only speaking when they were in an alley with Diego leading the way.

"We can't go back to the house," Luther said. "It's not secure. Those psychopaths could come back at any moment."

"My place is closer," Diego told him. "No one will look for them there."

Five let out a belch as he woke up.

"If you vomit on me...," Luther warned.

Five leaned his head back. "You know what's funny?" he asked. "I'm going through puberty. Twice."

YN let out a fit of giggles at the declaration, announcing her now-awake presence.

"Shut up!" Five shouted at her, although it didn't seem sincere. "You're going through the same thing!"

"Yeah," she agreed, letting out a restful sigh before falling into a fit of giggles again.

"We drank the whole bottle, didn't we?" Five asked.

"I think there were two," YN corrected.

Five sighed. "Well, that's what happens when the world you love goes bye-bye. Poof! It's gone," his voice trailed off to a slur. "What're you guys talking about?"

Luther let out a sigh at his brother's behaviour. "Two masked intruders attacked the academy last night," he explained.

"They came looking for you," Diego added. He glanced down at YN, who smiled cheekily at him. "Both of you. So, I need you guys to focus. What do they want?"

YN let out a quiet 'sounds fun' as Five muttered the names, Hazel and Cha Cha.

"Who?" Diego asked.

"You know, I hate code names," Luther commented.

"The best of the best," Five said.

"Aside from us!" YN shouted, waving an arm around in the arm and getting hushed by the two men.

"You're damn right," Five agreed.

"The best of what?"

"Delores always said that she hates it when I drink," Five got distracted.

"Delores can piss off."

"Hey!" Diego shouted, coming to a stop and turning to face Five and Luther. "I need you to focus. What do this Hazel and Cha Cha want? One of you needs to answer."

YN smiled and waved when she saw Five.

The two stared down at the smiling boy.

"We just want to protect you," Diego told them.

"Protect us," Five sighed. "We don't need your protection, Diego. Do you have any idea how many people we've killed? No. We're the Four freakin' Horsemen. The apocalypse is coming."

"Can't wait to see that again!" YN's head lolled back as she made eye contact with Luther. She narrowed her eyes at him in thought. "I could take you."

Luther went to question her but stopped when Five turned over, vomiting.

YN let out a groan of disgust as she tried not to do the same.

YN was placed on the bed first, closest to the wall, and then Five right next to her.

Luther watched with curiosity as the girl was immediately curling up against his brother, tightly grasping onto the fabric of his vest.

Behind him, Diego set the mannequin down on a chair. He stared at it a moment longer before joining Luther's side, where they looked down at the two.

"Funny," Diego said. "If I didn't know he was such a prick, I'd say he looks almost adorable in his sleep."

"Well, don't worry. He'll sober up eventually. Be back to his normal, unpleasant self."

"Yeah, I can't wait that long," Diego said as he walked back. "I need to find out what their connection is with these lunatics before someone else dies."

"All that stuff he was saying before," Luther trailed off as a thud caught Diego's attention. "What do you think he meant by that?"

Diego held a finger up to silence him as footsteps approached the room.

He pulled a knife out, heading to the door. He moved quickly, swinging the door open and readying his weapon.

"You throw another one of those goddamn knives at me, I'm pressing charges!" Diego deflated in relief at the familiar voice. He opened the door further.

"What do you want, Al?" he asked.

"I ain't your secretary." Diego let out a dismissive noise. "Some lady called for you, said she needs your help."

"What lady?"

"I dunno. Some detective. I think she said her name was Blotch or something."

That caught Diego's attention. "Patch?" Al shrugged. "She needs my help."

"She needs you to meet her at that motel, a dump on Calhoun." He handed Diego a paper with an address written on it.

"When?"

"About half an hour ago. Said she found your brother." As Al left, Diego looked over at Five.

"Well, that didn't make sense."

The two looked at each other in realization. "Klaus."

Diego was out the door before Luther could say much.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That was all she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

_ Five had been walking for god knows how long. _

_ His entire body ached, his feet taking the brunt of it, and the sound of the squeaking wheels on the wagon behind him was beginning to drive him mad. _

_ With the apocalypse came silence- the kind that drove you mad, making you desperate for any sound that wasn't made by yourself. _

_ No animals were left, and only a few insects prospered over whatever caused the destruction of Earth. _

_ Now more than ever, Five wished he was back with his family. Even if that meant being stuck with his father again, whom he should have listened to. _

_ With a sigh, Five pulled off to the side, settling under the shade of a mostly standing building. _

_ The boy wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he had barely made any distance. As much as he wanted to, he needed to continue looking for supplies. _

_ Five studied the barren land around him as he sat and leaned back against a wall. _

_ Small fires were still burning, despite the fact that they started nearly three years ago. _

_ He could feel his eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay awake. _

_ Perhaps a small nap couldn't hurt? _

"When's it supposed to happen?" Luther's voice roused YN from her sleep. "This...apocalypse?"

The girl sat up, earning glances from the two. She settled on leaning her head against Five's back as attempted to further wake up.

"I can't give you the exact hour, but, from what I could gather, we have four days left."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Luther asked.

"It wouldn't have mattered."

"Of course, it would!" Luther exclaimed. "We could've banded together and helped you try to stop this thing."

"For the record, you already tried," Five told him.

Luther sat up, confused. "What do you mean?"

Five went silent as he contemplated telling him. YN wrapped an arm under his arm, holding onto his shoulder and rubbing it for comfort. She could feel him lean back into her.

"I found all of you," he spoke. "Your bodies."

"We die?"

Five looked up at him solemnly, the image of all his siblings flashing through his mind.

"Horribly."

It went silent- it was a difficult subject for Five to talk about, and a hard one to learn about.

"You were together, trying to stop whoever it was that ends the world."

"Wait," Luther looked at him, "how do you know that?"

Five pulled out the eye. "This was clutched in your dead hand when I found you." He tossed it to Luther.

YN peered around Five's shoulder to watch, still holding on to him.

"Must've ripped it out of their head right before you went down."

"Whose head?"

"Like I said, I don't know." Luther inspected the eye.

"Well, there's a serial number on the back," he pointed out. "Think maybe you could-" "Dead end," YN chimed in. "Unfortunately."

With a hesitant nod to her, Luther returned the eye.

The door to the room slammed open, startling YN into sitting upright. Diego came storming in, cursing.

Luther was quick to get on his feet.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" He came toward the bed quickly, Luther grabbing him before he could do anything.

Diego let out grunts as he squirmed in his brother's grip.

"Get your ape hands off me!"

"I can do this as long as it takes for you to calm down," Luther told him.

Diego let out several pants as he stopped. "Fine." He was dropped to his feet with a thud.

"Now, wanna tell us what you're talking about?"

"Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back," Diego started, staring Five down with a fire in his eye. "He was in the middle of that shootout at Griddy's, and then at Gimble Brothers, after the guys in the masks attacked the academy, looking for them."

"None of which is any of your concern," Five spoke.

"It is now," Diego told him. "They just killed my friend."

YN's brows furrowed together as she looked up at him.

"Who are they?" Luther asked, turning to the two.

"They work for our former employer," Five caved. "A woman called the Handler. She sent them to stop us. Then, as soon as Diego's friend got in the way, well, fair game."

"And now they're my fair game. And I'm gonna see to it they pay."

As he turned to leave, YN's voice echoed.

"Who did they kill, Diego?"

The man stopped in his tracks, fists clenching. He looked back at her, eyes glazed over.

That was all she needed.

That was all she needed for her world to come crashing down on her.

Seeing that she understood, Diego continued his march out of the room.

"That would be a mistake, Diego," Five called after him.

"Diego, don't," YN warned, her voice straining.

"They've killed people far more dangerous than you."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," he said.

"Diego!" YN shouted, quickly scooting off the bed. She was rushing after him immediately, ignoring the nausea that came with her sudden movements.

She chased him out of the building to his car. She came to a halt at the window.

"Diego, you can't go after them," she pleaded. "They'll kill you. I can't lose you, too."

"They killed her, YN," he said with a sharp inhale. "I saw her, and there wasn't anything I could do. She was already gone."

He shook his head, leaning forward.

"And they'll do the same to you, which is why you  _ can't go. _ " Her voice was strained and cracking as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Diego looked up at her, a completely new attitude now present.

"You either get in the car and help me, or you stay out of the way."

YN's eyes widened at him.

"Diego," she pleaded.

Gritting his teeth, Diego started the car. Ignoring the girl's pleas, he drove off, leaving her alone.

As her tears continued to fall, she backed up against the nearest wall, sliding down to a seated position. Her legs were folded against her chest, her face hidden in her hands.

_ Peering around the wall, YN cautiously stared at the boy leaned against the wall. _

_ She had been passing through when she came across him. At first glance, she had thought that he was just another dead body that she had the misfortune of stumbling upon. _

_ But, another glance had her more curious. _

_ He was dressed for the current conditions, and as far as she could see, he wasn't decaying. If he truly was dead like everyone else, there would have to be some sign of it by now. _

_ Upon closer inspection, he was more than alive. His chest was rising and falling, but his eyes were closed. He was asleep. _

_ YN stepped closer, hoping to get a better look at him, but his rousing had her scurrying back behind the wall. _

_ She watched with wide eyes and labored breaths as he sat up, clearly taking in his surroundings. _

_ He stood, collecting himself and his things. _

_ As she watched, YN fought herself in her head. _

_ 'Talk to him!' her mind shouted. 'He's the only other person you've seen! You'll probably never see him again.' _

_ By the time she worked up the courage, he was already walking away. _

_ YN watched as he left, her hopes falling with a release of a breath she had been holding. _

_ Perhaps her sigh was loud enough, or maybe whatever god or gods were watching over her decided to bless her, but the boy paused before looking back at the building. _

_ Their eyes locked, both of theirs widening. _

Five was the one that retrieved YN from where she had crumpled down in despair.

She had stopped crying by the time he found her, staring blankly at her feet as her mind attempted to process all that she had been told.

Being in the Commission, she was used to death- used to talking about it, seeing it, thinking about it. That didn't mean that she liked it, and it certainly didn't make anything easier.

When she had found herself in the apocalypse with everyone dead, she knew that her mother was a part of that group- there was no way she wasn't.

So, when Five mentioned the idea of going back and saving everyone, Eudora was the first person that came to mind.

But now it seemed that she lost that chance.

And Diego was going after Cha Cha and Hazel, putting him at risk for the same fate as her mother.

It was all a mess, and she hated that all she could handle doing was let Five settle her into his bed back at the academy, telling her to get some rest.

Even that seemed impossible.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Put. Her. Down."

Repetitive noises typically annoyed people if they weren't the ones making it, but as YN laid, curled up on Five's bed as he wrote on the walls, the clacking of chalk against it was the only thing keeping her sane.

It gave her something to focus on- to keep her from thinking about Eudora's death, or the danger Diego was putting himself in, or what would happen to her younger self.

Upon seeing the traumatized girl, most people would scold Five for working on equations rather than comfort her. But Five knew her, and he knew that she needed time to process everything first. And when she was in need of comfort, he would be there- even if that meant not worrying about the apocalypse for a moment.

So, she laid on top of Five's bed, curled into herself. Five stood in front of her, writing on the wall behind her.

The writing stopped, and YN's thoughts started.

"Okay, I think I've got something." She looked up at Five at the sound of the sudden intrusion of his voice. "It's tenuous but promising."

YN watched as Luther walked into the room, confusion already present on his face.

"What is all this?" he asked.

"It's a probability map."

"Probability of what?"

"Of whose death could save the world." Five tapped on the wall. "I've narrowed it down to four."

"Are you saying one of these four people causes the apocalypse?" Luther asked.

"Their death might prevent it," YN explained for Five, her voice dull and eyes closed.

The sound of clacking came back for a moment as Luther glanced down at the girl.

"I'm not following." YN let out a hum as Five jumped into the explanation.

"Time is fickle, Luther. The slightest alteration in events can lead to massively different outcomes in the time continuum. The butterfly effect." Luther nodded. "So, all I have to do is find the people with the greatest probability of impacting the timeline, wherever they may be, and kill them."

Five dropped off the bed to look through Vanya's book as Luther came around to the other side of the bed. He looked over the names.

"'Milton Green,'" he read. "So, who's he? A terrorist or something?"

"I believe he is a gardener." YN opened her eyes to look at Five.

"You can't be serious," Luther said. "Wait, this is madness, Five."

Whatever words were about to follow halted when Five placed a case on his bed. YN sat up in curiosity.

"Where'd you get that?"

"In Dad's room," Five answered, unzipping it. "I think he used it to shoot a rhinoceros."

He pulled it out, looking it over. "It's similar to the model I used at work. Nice shoulder fit and highly reliable."

"But you can't- this guy Milton is just an innocent man!"

"It's a little distasteful, but his death could save billions of people," YN told him. "Besides, he'd just end up dead anyway."

"We don't do this kind of thing," Luther criticized.

"We are not doing anything," Five corrected. "I am. And if YN wants to come, then she's allowed to join."

"I can't let you go and kill innocent people," Luther said. "No matter how many lives it saves."

"Well, good luck stopping me."

"You're not going anywhere."

With a shriek, YN was lifted off the bed by the back of her shirt collar. She was shoved out the window and left dangling from Luther's grip.

"Motherfucker!" she screamed, kicking in his grasp as fury filled her body.

Five was quick to spin around, aiming the gun at his brother.

"Put. Her. Down."

"Put the gun down- you're not killing anyone," Luther countered. "I know she's important to you, so don't make me do this. It's either her or the gun. You decide."

"You know, I'm pretty sure if you drop me, I'll survive," YN continued squirming, "but that doesn't mean I'm fine with this."

It was silent as the two stared back at each other, waiting for the other to move.

Using his strength, Luther tossed the girl. She let out an alarming screech.

Five dropped the rifle and jumped forward to grab onto her.

He quickly pulled her back into his room.

"I can keep doing this all day." Looking back, Luther stood with the gun in hand.

Ignoring him, Five fretted over YN, having her sit on his bed.

"I know you're still a good person, Five," Luther continued. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have risked it coming back here to save us all. But you're not on your own anymore."

Five looked up at Luther. "There is one way, but it's just about impossible."

"More impossible than what brought you back here?"

Looking back at YN, she sighed, knowing where this was going.

Pulling to the side of the road, Luther parked the car, and Five unbuckled his seat. YN sat in the back, more interested in looking out of the car windows.

With a sigh, Five spoke, "I never enjoyed it, you know."

"What?"

"The killing," he clarified. "I mean, I was good at my work, and I took pride in it, but it never gave me pleasure."

It fell silent for a while.

"You think they'll buy it?" Luther asked, laying an arm on the briefcase.

"Well, what we do know is that they're desperate. It's like a cop losing his gun. If the Commission finds out, they'll be in deep shit. Not to mention that they'll be stuck here until they get it back."

"I should hold onto it," Luther said. Five hummed in confusion. "In case they make a move on either of you."

"Okay, Luther, but be careful," said Five. "I mean, we've lived long lives, but you're still a young man. You got your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it."

Luther stared at his brother, confused.

"There's a car coming up," YN announced.

Sure enough, a car appeared from behind a hill on the road.

"Here we go," Five said, the three climbing out of the car. They joined each other in the middle of the road, watching the car drive past.

"You sure you want to do this?" Five whispered to YN. "I can understand if you don't. You've been through a lot."

They watched as Hazel and Cha Cha exited the car, their creepy masks covering their faces.

"I don't really have a choice," YN responded.

With a sigh, Five walked forward to meet with their tailers, YN just a step behind him.

"The masks really necessary?" Five asked.

The two pulled them off and threw them aside.

"So, where is it?" Cha Cha asked.

"Wow, that's how you're gonna start," Five sassed. "You know, we can get back in our car and call it a day."

"You won't even make it halfway there," the woman said, pulling out her gun. She pointed it at Five, and Hazel raised his to YN.

"Maybe," Five said, "but as I'm sure you found out in your previous foray, my brother is not your average giant."

"He's right," Hazel said. "You dropped a chandelier on him, got right back up."

"You hurt us, and he'll destroy your precious briefcase," YN smiled.

"Probably us, too, right?" Hazel asked. "So, how do we help each other?"

"I need you to get in contact with your superior, so we can have a chat with her," Five explained. "Face-to-face."

"About what?" Cha Cha asked.

"Why do you care?" YN asked.

The woman took a deep breath. "Just don't tell her about the briefcase."

"Fair enough."

The four parted, Cha Cha and Hazel going to a payphone, and Five and YN returning to the car and Luther.

Five settled against the car, and YN sat on the hood.

"What now?"

"Now, we wait."

YN grabbed Five's hand to fiddle with while they waited. The sound of music typical to an ice cream truck had them confused.

Five grabbed YN's hand and pulled her down to his side as they looked back.

Everyone watched in confusion as it drove down the street, music echoing.

"Is that her?" Luther asked the two beside him.

YN's eyes widened in disbelief as the truck drove by.

Klaus sat in the front seat, smiling and waving out at them. In the passenger seat was Diego.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

The truck continued, Cha Cha and Hazel raising their guns to fire at it.

Luther covered Five and YN with his body, holding his arms out.

The two watched, however, as everything came to a halt.

They peered out from behind Luther.

"What the hell?" YN muttered.

Together, they walked out from behind him to take in the scene before them.

"Neat trick, isn't it?" Turning, the Handler stood there in all her unbridled glory.

She pulled back the net veil covering her face and removed her sunglasses.

"Hello, Five, YN," she greeted. "You two look good, all things considered. And I must say, I'm very sorry for your loss, dear."

She smiled at YN, who was held back by Five from doing anything.

"Good to see you again," Five said, whispering a warning back to YN.

"Feels like we met just yesterday," the woman said. "Course, you were both a little older then. Congratulations on the age regression, by the way. Very clever. Threw us all off the scent."

"Well, I wish I could take credit," Five said. "I just miscalculated the time dilation projections and, well, you know. Here we are." He briefly held out his arms.

"You realize your efforts are futile. So, why don't you tell me what you really want?"

"We want you to put a stop to this," YN told her.

"You realize what you're asking for is next to impossible, even for me," the Handler said. "What's meant to be is meant to be. That's our raison d'etre."

YN rolled her eyes, looking off to the side, and Five pulled a gun.

"Yeah? Well, how about survival as a raison?" Five gave a mocking smile.

"I'll just be replaced. I'm but a...small cog in a machine." As she stepped closer to the two, Five kept a close eye on her. "This fantasy you've been nurturing about summoning up your family to stop the apocalypse is just that- a fantasy. I must say, though, we're all quite impressed with your initiative, your stick-to-itiveness, really quite something."

YN narrowed her eyes at the flattery.

"Which is why we want to offer both of you new positions back at the Commission in management," she told them.

"Sorry, what's that now?" Five questioned.

"Come back to work for us again," she coaxed. "It's where you belong."

"The last time we were there, things weren't going that good," YN recalled.

"But you wouldn't be in the correction division any longer," the Handler corrected her. "I'm talking about the home office. You'd have the best health and pension, and an end to this ceaseless travel. You're distinguished professionals in-" she trailed off for a second as she looked down, "-matching schoolboy shorts. We have the technology to reverse the process. I mean, you can't be happy like this."

She reached over to push Five's gun down.

"We're not looking for happy," he told her.

"We're all looking for happy," she responded. "We can make that happen. We can make you yourselves again."

Five sighed, looking to the side. "What about my family?"

"What about them?"

"I want them to survive."

The Handler looked at Luther, then at the truck where Diego and Klaus resided.

"All of them?"

"Yes, all of them."

Without a word, they watched as the woman pulled out her sunglasses and put them back on. "I'll see what I can do." She held out her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"One thing," Five said.

He nodded toward the gun lying on the road, silently telling YN to deal with it.

As she went to it, Five messed with a bullet that headed in Luther's direction.

YN unloaded the gun, throwing both parts to the sides before returning.

The Handler held her hand out again. Grabbing YN's first, Five took hers and shook it.

They were gone with a flash, everything returning to normal.

The bullet missed Luther, Cha Cha and Hazel fell to the ground, and the truck crashed into the back of the assassins' car.

Luther frantically looked around for the missing two, calling out their names in confusion.

Looking back at the assassins, he held up the briefcase.

"Come get it!" Cha Cha came running at him but turned when it was thrown to the side.

The man ran to the truck to help his siblings. They ran back to the car as fast as they could.

They quickly climbed inside, Klaus and Diego in the back, Luther getting in the driver's seat.

They were off in seconds, leaving behind the frustrated assassins.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus chuckled. "Our little psycho."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this problem where I lose motivation to write, but the moment I get it back, all I can do is write and I end up mass-posting chapters

"Three days?"

Luther took the cup of coffee that Allison offered him. "Well, that's what they said," he told her. "Or, Five, I guess."

"The old bastard did mention the apocalypse, come to think of it," Klaus said. "He just left out the part about how soon."

"But can we trust him?" Allison asked. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Five's a little-" she stopped to whistle, pointing to her head.

Klaus chuckled. "Our little psycho."

"And what about his friend?" Allison asked. "Did she say anything about it?"

"She was kind of busy chasing after Diego," Luther told her, glancing at his brother. "But, he was pretty convincing. If they weren't trying to stop an apocalypse, those two lunatics wouldn't be chasing after them."

"That's why they were after them?" Diego asked.

"Yeah." Diego sat back in his seat, jaw clenched at the idea that they were after YN, who probably only had Five to defend her.

"What did they even see?" Allison asked.

Luther looked at her, mouth open, and uncertain of what to say.

"Uh, apparently, we all fought together against whoever was responsible," Luther explained.

It was silent as they looked to him for further explanation.

He clicked his tongue and stood. "OK, so, here's the plan," he started.

Before he could say more, the three were objecting. He looked back at them.

"What actually happened the first time around?"

"Yeah," Diego agreed. "What are you not telling us? Come on, big boy, spit it out."

No one spoke as Luther nervously looked to all of them, then down at his cup. He hesitated, bringing the cup up.

"We died." It was impossible for the siblings to hear.

"What was that?" Allison asked, leaning forward.

Luther coughed. "I said, uh," he stuttered, "we died."

_YN climbed through the rubble and snow, trying to get back to the grocery store as soon as possible._

_Her body was much more used to the cold than the average person, her powers helping considerably._

_The woman was more worried about Five, however, who didn't have the same resistance to the cold._

_She had left him alone for the majority of the day in hopes of finding more food before the weather got even worse._

_But while she was out, the snow kicked up. She was stuck navigating her way back through a snowstorm, worrying about how Five was doing at the same time._

_YN's vision was limited through the falling snow, but she could faintly see the familiar sight of the store._

_The building was just a temporary settling place until the weather evened out. It was also more intact than its surrounding buildings, making it the best choice._

_YN pushed on, determined to make it back, and confirm that the idiot hadn't managed to freeze himself to death._

_She pushed through the door, immediately dumping her bag and heaving a breath._

_The room was much warmer than outside, the only reminder of the cold being the shrill shriek of wind heard through the walls._

_"Jesus, I didn't think you were going to make it back alive." YN looked over at Five, who looked relieved yet worried._

_He was by her in an instant as she wiped off as much snow from her clothes as she could._

_"Are you alright?" he asked._

_"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. "I was more worried about you."_

_"What? Why? I'm not the one who was out in the storm."_

_"You're also not the one that can stand the cold," YN countered. "I had half a mind to think that I would find you freezing to death."_

_Five tugged her over to a fire that burned and sat her close to it._

_"I'm not completely defenseless against the elements," he muttered._

_"Your dad teach you guys how to make fires in apocalyptic scenarios?" she teased._

_Five rolled his eyes and sat next to her._

_"I'm just kidding," she laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaning her head on his shoulder._

_"Have I ever told you how hilarious you are?" His words were drowned in sarcasm._

_"Oh, thank you very much, sir."_

"I must admit, in all the time I've been here, I've never met anyone quite like the pair of you," the Handler spoke as she led Five and YN down a stone path to a roundabout.

People greeted the woman as they passed.

"Hazel and Cha Cha, for example, are talented, certainly," she said, "but they can't see the big picture."

YN zoned out as she droned out, taking in the familiar scenery with dread in her gut.

This was the last place she wanted to be, especially with all that had been going on.

They followed her into the busy building, a man taking the Handler's coat.

"I'd like to discuss the logistics of my family's safety at your earliest convenience," Five told her. "As well as this body replacement."

The three of them climbed the stairs as they spoke.

"Such chutzpah," the Handler laughed. YN gave her an odd look at the word. "It's refreshing, I'll admit. Slow down, Five, all in good time. In fact, now that you've finally agreed to work with us, we've got all the time in the world."

YN leaned in close to Five. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No, but we don't have a choice, really."

They followed after the Handler as she rambled, leading them up to a specific floor.

"All the people on this floor are case managers, each one responsible for one major event at a time," she explained, leading them down a hall and turning to the first room.

Inside was a long line of desks that seemed to stretch beyond natural possibility.

YN's eyes widened at the sight of it all. "Holy shit."

"So many of them."

"Impressive, isn't it?" the Handler asked. "Being a part of something...so grand."

The clicking from all of the typewriters made YN nauseous.

"Come along." The Handler continued a step ahead of them.

"Whenever someone chooses the wrong path, and the timeline is changed, the Commission gets a report from field agents on the ground," she explained. "These field reports are sorted and assigned to a case manager. They determine if anyone needs to be removed from the equation to assure that their event happens as it should."

She led them to another room, lined with pipes. A woman stood inside, doing her job.

"Based on that determination, the case manager sends instructions via pneumatic tube to temporal assassins like the two of you formally were. Any queries so far?"

She looked at the two.

"Yeah," Five said. "Who was the case manager handling us?"

"Ah, you mean the apocalypse!"

They were led back to the case managers and down the line to a woman.

"Five, YN, meet Dot." The woman looked at them with a bright smile, which YN couldn't help but return. "Dot is responsible for all apocalypse matters. In fact, it was Dot here who first flagged your appearance in 2019."

"No hard feelings," Dot said.

"Well, you pair certainly put us through the wringer," the Handler smiled. "Outsmarting two of our so-called best temporal assassins. If that doesn't spell leadership material-" the woman paused as her voice picked up, bringing everyone around to a stop, "-I just don't know."

Everyone resumed their work as the Handler showed them to their new desks that happened to be placed inconveniently far from each other.

The two settled in their respective seats, having no choice but to work.


End file.
